Banned from playing in France due to a heart anomaly, the former French 7s and 15s international now plays for the Fijian Drua franchise in Super Rugby.
Virimi Vakatawa, former center of Racing 92 and the XV of France, now selected by Fiji, his country of origin, was selected in the starting XV of the Barbarians to face South Africa on Saturday in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth), at the Nelson-Mandela stadium, the Barbarians announced on Wednesday. Selected 32 times for the French XV, before being banned from playing in France due to a heart anomaly, Vakatawa, now a player for Fijian Drua, a Super Rugby franchise, will find several players playing in France among the 23 selected on the match sheet by the coach New Zealander Scott Robertson, former coach of the All Blacks.
At the opening the “Babaa’s” retained the Argentinian from Toulon Tomas Albornoz, while the Englishman from Bayonne Alex Moon will play in the second line. Castres’ Uruguayan scrum-half Santiago Arata and Clermont’s New Zealand fly-half Harry Plummer were called to the substitutes’ bench. Also note the presence on the bench of Izack Rodda, second row and Australian captain of Provence Rugby, in Pro D2.
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The other big names in this Barbarians selection are ex-All Black scrum-half TJ Perenara, who will take on the role of captain, and Scottish winger of South African origin Duhan van der Merwe.
The composition of the British Barbarians:
Gelant (RSA) – Kellaway (AUS), Vakatawa (FIJ), Nankivell (IRL), van der Merwe (SCO) – (o) Albornoz (ARG), (m) TJ Perenara (NZL) (cap.) – Boshier (NZL), Fai’ilagi (SAM), Petti (ARG) – Moon (ENGSCO), Dena (ENGSCO), Dena (Rae) (WAL), Vivas (ARG)
RemplaçantsÂ: Oviedo (ARG), Kebble (SCO), Delgado (ARG), Rodda (AUS), McConnell (SCO), Arata (URU), Plummer (NZL), Samusamuvodre (FIJ)
/2026/06/17/6a3292eaed38f603254388.jpg "DIRECT. 2026 World Cup: Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal enters the competition against the DRC, four matches on the program from 7 p.m.")
